New York Times Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

New York Times NYSE: NYT reported second-quarter revenue growth across subscriptions, advertising and affiliate licensing, while executives highlighted investments in video, product development and journalism as central to the company’s long-term strategy.

Chief Executive Officer Meredith Kopit Levien said the company added 280,000 net new digital subscribers during the quarter, bringing its total subscriber base to 13.4 million. Digital subscription revenue rose 16%, supported by product expansion across news, sports, cooking and games. The company remains on track toward its next subscriber milestone of 15 million, she said.

Chief Financial Officer Will Bardeen said consolidated revenue increased 11% from the prior-year period, while adjusted operating profit, or AOP, increased 16% to approximately $155 million. Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 19% year over year to $0.69. Digital-only subscription revenue increased 16.4% to $408 million. Total subscription revenue rose 11.7% to approximately $538 million. Total advertising revenue increased 11.3% to $149 million. Digital advertising revenue climbed 20.7% to $114 million. Affiliate, licensing and other revenue increased about 7% to $75.5 million.

Bardeen said digital-only subscribers were up 13.3% year over year at the end of the quarter, while digital-only average revenue per user increased 3.1%. He attributed the ARPU growth to several factors, including the benefit of a digital bundle price increase implemented in the first quarter for a cohort of tenured subscribers, as well as retention and pricing performance as subscribers moved off promotional offers.

First-half free cash flow was approximately $266 million. The company returned about $160 million to shareholders during the period, including roughly $92 million in share repurchases and $68 million in dividends.

Bardeen said free cash flow also benefited from seasonal working-capital timing and a tax-related benefit of approximately $60 million in 2026, most of which is not expected to recur after this fiscal year.

Digital and total advertising growth both exceeded the company’s expectations in the second quarter. Kopit Levien said the performance reflected marketer demand, strong engagement across the company’s portfolio and advertising products that generate results for clients.